Tapes are next for UConn coach

By SEAN BARKER

Published 12:00 am, Saturday, September 2, 2000

Special to The Press

SHEFFIELD, Mass. -- University of Connecticut football coach Randy Edsall wasn't expecting to get much sleep Thursday night.

After the Huskies broke camp from The Berkshire School with an intrasquad scrimmage, Edsall expected to be watching plenty of film with his assistant coaches to determine the two-deep charts for the season opener against Eastern Michigan Sept. 2.

There are many positions where Edsall has already made decisions. Junior college transfer Ryan Tracey (17-for-37, 212 yards, one interception, one TD Thursday) will be the starting quarterback. Junior Taber Small (four rushes for 31 yards, five catches for 42 yards) will start at tailback. Senior John Fitzsimmons is such a lock at wide receiver that Edsall didn't even play him in the scrimmage so the senior could rest some bumps and bruises.

Edsall expects members of the starting offensive line to be healthy enough for opening day. Fairfield's C.J. Hessel, Corey Derfuss, Shelton's Steve Darby (leg), Mark Campoli and Steve Cully haven't played together as a unit throughout camp.

Former Cheshire standout Jason Dellaselva has won a starting job at free safety while defensive backs Carl Bradford and Roy Hopkins retained their spots in the starting lineup. Sophomore Hakeem Kashama, Ronel Jumpp, Ryan Timko and Jamar Wilkins all seem set on the defensive line, although 6-foot-6 freshman Sean Mulcahy from Staples High of Westport will see plenty of time in the rotation.

Others, such as former Milford Academy standout fullback Terry McClowry, have made impacts during camp to earn starting positions. Just last week, Edsall said he expected freshman Justin Spence to earn the starting fullback position, but Edsall has been impressed with McClowry this week and expects to name him the starter today.

Sophomore kicker Geoff Heyl, third on the depth charts coming out of spring practice, is first coming out of the summer. He kicked a 47-yarder Thursday to go along with two 40-plus-yard kicks on Saturday.

Edsall said what he planned on doing most while evaluating tapes Thursday night was to find those who would earn second-string positions and spots on special teams.

BETTER THAN BEFORE: UConn's offense was still shaky in Thursday's scrimmage with the White (first team) and Blue (others) tying 10-10.

"I thought we got a lot accomplished in the time we were here," Edsall said of the team's two-week, off-campus camp. "We still have a lot of work to do yet. But there was improvement from Saturday's (scrimmage). We're better than when we got here. It's just going to be a really long process where we have to continue to grow and improve each week."

This is UConn's first season as a Division I-A independent.

DUPREE WORKING OUT: Freshman offensive lineman LeAndre Dupree is back working on conditioning drills. He had missed the past week while taking tests to determine his heat threshold.

Dupree had heat exhaustion early during camp. In the spring, heat exhaustion and a stomach virus kept Dupree out of the majority of spring practice.

Edsall is very high on Dupree and believes he can be a major contributor, and possible starter, on the offensive line.

EXTRA POINTS: Edsall said Dellaselva could possibly see time on kickoff and punt returns. Bradford and Hopkins are also expected to return kickoffs. Sophomore wide receiver O'Neill Wilson will also return kickoffs. New Britain's Chris Bellamy has also been getting time in practice returning kicks. Bradford is expected to be the Huskies' top punt returner. Wallingford's Cliff Hill, a red-shirt freshman, and Wilson are also getting time with the punt return team in practice.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Some other stats from Thursday: Freshman Evan Benson rushed for 28 yards on six carries; freshman Chandler Poole rushed for 29 yards on five carries and Bellamy rushed for 25 yards on 10 carries for the Blue team. Backup quarterback Chris Willis (Ansonia's Luke Richmond is still hampered by a hamstring injury) was 10-for-14 for 134 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Sophomore tight end Tom Collins had five catches for 81 yards and a touchdown, and junior receiver Steven O'Connor had four catches for 53 yards and a touchdown.